CITB SMSTS case studies

CITB SMSTS · Put your knowledge to work in context.

SMSTS - the Site Management Safety Training Scheme - is a construction health, safety and environmental management course that sits within CITB's Site Safety Plus (SSP) family of courses. It is intended for people who manage or supervise construction work - site managers, agents, supervisors and others with day-to-day responsibility for the safety of those on site - and who therefore need a working command of both the legal framework and the practical controls expected of a site manager. The CITB SMSTS case studies are 5 cases and about 4,034 words.

The 30-day assumption on a gym conversion

You are site manager for a contract converting a vacant retail unit into a gym for a private developer: two load-bearing walls out, a new steel-framed mezzanine in. The programme shows 35 working days on site and peak occupancy of 22 operatives; the tender estimate is 560 person-days.

776 words, about 4 min 2

Welfare, a pregnancy and an apprentice on a cold Monday

You take over as site manager on a 40-week refurbishment of a 1960s residential block in mid-January, two weeks into the programme. Forty-six operatives from five subcontractors are on site.

821 words, about 4 min 3

The retail-park method statement on a basement site

Two days before a cladding package starts on a six-storey office, the subcontractor sends a six-page method statement for 'MEWP operations'. It is dated 2019, names a supervisor you know has left the company, and is clearly the same document used on a retail park.

778 words, about 4 min 4

Three incidents and a dropped block

On a groundworks package you deal with four things in one week. An operative lacerates his forearm on an unguarded cut-off saw, goes to A&E, has four stitches and a tetanus jab, and is back on light duties the next morning.

836 words, about 4 min 5

Precast panels, made ground and a live 11kV line

You are managing a 12-week extension at a primary school. Twelve precast wall panels, 6.5t each, are to be landed on a new slab.

823 words, about 4 min